


All Comes Back To You

by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-09-23 03:02:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17072264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaoticReactions/pseuds/BossToaster
Summary: Sheith fluff fics, out of pure spite





	1. Chapter 1

"Sheep!“

Keith jolted, surprised by the sudden cry.  Long pilot training kept his hands steady on the rental car’s wheel, even as the rest of him went suddenly tense.  It only took a moment for him to realize the shout wasn’t the result of injury or distress, and then he let out a long sigh.  "Guess you’re awake, then?”

Flashing him a smile, Shiro shrugged one shoulder.  “Apparently so."  Then he turned his head back to the window, eyes wide with nearly childish delight.  "You should have woken me up.”

“You need the rest,” Keith shot back immediately. “Besides, they’re sheep, not giraffes.  We’re passing by farmland, of course there are sheep.  Why would I wake you?”

Shiro opened his mouth, then closed it.  “You’re not excited?”

“They’re  _sheep._   We’ve passed several hundred just like them already.  Why would I be excited?”

“Oh."  Shiro tapped the fingers of his prosthetic against his other arm, slow and thoughtful.  He stared for another minute, then flopped back in his seat.  "I wasn’t sleeping.  I never do in vehicles.”

“You survived the trip to Kerberos pretty well for someone who didn’t sleep."  Keith peered at him over the top of his glasses, then relaxed back into his seat.  They continued to pass more farms, now transitioning into budding crops rather than livestock.  "To say nothing of the Castle of Lions, the Black Lion, and the Green Lion.”

“Those don’t count.”

“Ah.”

Shiro huffed.  “I mean in cars.  Temporary transport.  The kind that disrespectful teenagers steal.”

Without even looking over, Keith flipped him off.  Shiro muttered something that sounded like ‘insubordination’, but there was a laugh to his voice.  “You’ve been doing a really good impression of sleeping for the past two hours, then.  Why do you care about the sheep?”

“I was dozing, it’s different.  And it’s not a big deal.  I was just surprised to see them."  Shiro went back to his tapping, the huge metal fingers dwarfing his own left arm.  It was, at least in part, the reason he’d agreed to let Keith drive the first leg of their trip.  Normally he wouldn’t give up control without a fight, at least for the sake of his own pride and self image.  But when he’d stuffed himself into the front seat, they realized his new, larger prosthesis didn’t fit comfortably around the wheel.  The spaces were too small for all his fingers, and the arm rest was in the way of where his arm wanted to float.

Keith’s brow furrowed as he snuck glances at Shiro from the corner of his eye.  "Why were you sur…?"  He trailed off as realization struck.  "Have you never seen a sheep in real life before?”

Catching the surprise in Keith’s tone, Shiro stilled.  “I haven’t had much opportunity.  I grew up in the city, and I went to the Garrison.  I didn’t go to many farms between.”

Unspoken was that Shiro had probably never done  _this_  before either.  Just a random road trip up and down the west coast.  Spending a week going wherever he pleased in a car and nothing else.  Hitting kitschy roadside attractions or pausing for the view just because.

Shiro had never been as serious as he presented himself, but he’d been even more driven.  A road trip for no reason would be a waste of resources and time for him, when he was racing against a biological clock.

Not that Shiro would appreciate Keith saying that, or even him coming to that conclusion.

Instead, Keith snorted and shook his head.  “Such a city boy.”

“I apologize for growing up in civilization.”

“You know, if you ever set foot outside of the smog, you might not scream so loudly at the very sight of a snake.”

Shiro drew himself up, mock-affronted.  “It was the middle of the night, I woke up to go to the bathroom, and there was a snake by the bowl.  I think my reaction was perfectly legitimate.”

Keith tilted his head forward, so he could meet Shiro’s gaze over the top of his sunglasses.  “And the part where you woke me up was…?”

“You were awake already.”

“Because of your  _scream.”_

Crossing his arms, Shiro slumped down in the seat and pulled out his phone.  “You have more experience handling wild animals.  It was your house.  It seemed perfectly rational to ask for your opinion in how to handle the situation.  It’s called delegating.”

“Mhmm.”

This time, Shiro only huffed.  He pulled up a map and started to follow the road northwest, checking ahead of them.  “Do you want to stop for lunch, soon?”

Keith snapped his attention back to the road rather than try to follow what Shiro was looking at.  The clock read 12:34, but even after a few months that meant nothing to him.  Even on Earth, he tended to just grab a meal when he felt hungry, not when a clock told him to.  There were team meals in the evening, but lunch was more often 'just get the goo when you remember’.

On the Atlas, that was likely to change.  It might be worth it to get into a habit.

“Alright,” Keith replied.  “Anything sound good?”

“Define good.”

“Anything we want to eat without Hunk here to berate us?”

A grin spread across Shiro’s face.  “That I can do.  Fast food?  There’s a local burger chain about 25 miles up the road.  I’ve heard their fries are good.”

Keith cracked a smile.  “Are you trying to bribe me with good fries so I’ll stop talking about the snake?”

“Would it work if I was?”

Chuckling, Keith shook his head.  “You don’t need to sell it that hard.  Yeah, okay, that works.  Maybe after you can give driving another shot?”

Shiro’s expression softened as he put away his phone.  “That’d be nice.  Give you a break.  Feeling alright?”

Oh, boy.  This again.  Keith set his jaw and narrowed his eyes at the road.  The crops began to give way, only to be replaced with more open fields.  “Shiro.”

“It’s a legitimate question,” Shiro said, growing more serious.  He turned as best he could in the chair so he could face Keith.  “We don’t have the pods, and you’re not a teenager anymore.  You can’t bounce back from everything like you’re made of rubber.”

Taking a deep breath, Keith let it out slowly and reminded himself that Shiro didn’t mean to be a patronizing hypocrite.  He just  _was_  one.  “I have had no headaches or blurry vision.  The physical therapist gave me stretches to do daily, which I’ve listened to.  My full range of movement is back, and just last week I threw you across the training mat.  What more do you need to realize I’m fine?”

Shiro’s lips pressed thin and he looked away. “Your injuries were unique.  No doctor on Earth has ever had to treat-”

_“Shiro.”_

A heavy sigh escaped him.  “A couple weeks.  Maybe a month.  Long enough for the memory to fade, at least."  He paused, swallowing.  "I was there when they got you out.  You practically landed on my lap.”

Keith stared ahead, his shoulders slowly slumping.  Finally, he reached over and rubbed Shiro’s shoulder.  “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.  You were doing your job.”

“I’m sorry anyway."  Keith chanced a glance over.  "It’s not like I haven’t been there.”

Shiro closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then slowly let it out.  He leaned into Keith’s touch.  “Yeah.  Yeah, I know.” Metal fingers curled into his white bangs, tangling them around the top knuckle.  “I know.  Turns out I’m not good at dealing with it on the other side.  Guess I never really thought about being the one waiting around in the hospital, rather than the one in the bed.”

Once again, Keith stilled.  It was rare enough for Shiro to even hint at his disease, much less mention the downsides, like future hospital visits.  Then again, Keith wasn’t sure he should be surprised by Shiro making it into a dark joke.  “Well, how about we both resolve to stay out of the hospital, then?”

Shiro cracked a reluctant smile.  “Oh, okay then.  I’ll send the Galra a memo.  Dear Haggar, please refrain from future injuries.  Keith and I have a pact.  Think that’ll cover it?”

“You’re assuming she even gets close enough to you for injuries to be an option."  Keith finally dropped his hand, eyes narrowed as he watched the road curve ahead of them.  "Not happening.”

Shiro didn’t respond, but when Keith glanced over, he was wearing a gentle smile.

Silence held, but it was comfortable.  They had never really needed constant chatter between them, for which Keith was eternally grateful.  When someone tried to babble to fill the silence - or worse, expected Keith to contribute - he always wanted to escape as soon as possible.

Not here.

Glancing over at the side of the road, Keith considered, then tightened his grip on the wheel.  “Hey, Shiro?”

“Yeah?”

“Hold on.”

Then, without further warning, Keith pulled off the road and onto the grass.

Shiro’s metal hand snapped up to hold onto the grab handle above the car door, and he braced himself against the floor as if Keith would ever crash.  “What are you doing?”

Rather than answer, Keith slowed them to a stop, careful not to slam the breaks and leave tire tracks in the dirt.  Then he turned on the blinker to signal they weren’t in trouble and opened the door.  “Come on.”

“Keith!"  There was a thump from inside, as if Shiro had smacked his hand on the dashboard.  Then the passenger door opened and Shiro stumbled out.  "What’s going on?”

Keith gestured grandly toward the farm next to them.  “Sheep.”

Indeed, a flock stood on the other side of the fence, scattered throughout the field.  One sheep stood closer than the others, watching them warily after the car came so close.  But after a moment, it ducked its head and began to graze again.

Shiro’s mouth fell open.  He followed Keith’s gesture, then looked back, then back to the sheep.  “Yeah.  Yeah it is.  I was okay watching from the car, you know.”

“Well, now you can do one better.” Keith repeated his gesture, leaning against a fence poll.  “Just try not to touch the wire.  I don’t know if it’s electrified.”

Eyes wide, Shiro took a wary step forward.  “They really do that?”

“Yup.  Though I don’t think sheep tend to be escape artists in the way some animals are.  Then again, I’ve never been to a sheep farm."  He nodded to the creature, who nibbled away at a weed.  "Come on, say hi before someone on the farm sees us messing with their livestock.”

Shiro opened his mouth and closed it.  He took another careful step forward, until he was even with the fence, but he didn’t reach up.  He just watched the grazing sheep.  “Um.  Okay.”

Silence, as Shiro watched the animal, and Keith watched Shiro.

Finally, Shiro looked to Keith.  “Do I just…. like a dog?”

Ah, boy.

Keith pushed off the pole and stepped next to Shiro.  Then he reached down and plucked a longer weed, feeding it between the wires and waving it in front of where the sheep was already eating.  When it nibbled the new source of food, Keith slowly pulled back on his weed, drawing the head up and enticing it closer to the fence without risking getting shocked.  “There.  Pet it.”

“Is it going to bite me?”

“Is it-?"  Keith looked over, then barked out a laugh.  "Don’t put your hand on the weed and I think you’ll be okay.  Just pet the back.”

Finally, Shiro nodded, setting his jaw like he was facing down a Galra cruiser and not a domesticated animal.  Slowly, he floated his metal arm over the wire fence, and carefully dropped the palm down on the sheep’s back, so softly the wool barely bounced.

Shiro’s eyes widened.  “Oh.  That’s not what I expected."  His fingers curled in slightly, then tried to card through the curls.  Instead his finger skated gently over the top of the wool.  "It’s springy.  And soft.”

“It’s wool."  Keith meant for it to come out teasing, but instead his voice stayed soft.  Instead he watched the smile slowly spread over Shiro’s face.  The act of petting a sheep was so mundane, but Shiro had the same expression that Keith knew from watching documentaries at the Garrison or landing on new planets.  Discovery.  Wonder.

Exactly how he should look all the time.  Keith itched to take a picture.  Even more so, he wished he could shove the universe into the proper alignment that Shiro never had to experience anything else.  Just that soft awe, that gentle excitement.

Keith wanted to kiss that smile and learn the shape of it.

The sheep tugged on the weed, trying to pull away a nibble.  The whole plant fell from Keith’s slack fingers.  Ignorant of its’ minor triumph, the sheep wandered back away, still chewing on the weed dangling from its’ mouth.

"Shit,” Keith muttered, already bending down.  “I’ll get another and lure it back.  Sorry, I was daydreaming.”

“No, it’s fine.  I got the experience."  Shiro rested a his natural hand on Keith’s shoulder.  That same pleased smile focused on Keith, whose heart clenched.  "Thank you.  I would never have done that without you.”

Keith straightened again.  “I know.  I wish you would.”

The hand slid away, brushing over Keith’s shirt and catching on the fabric before falling away completely.  “I just don’t think about it."  Shiro scanned over the field.  "You mentioned someone seeing?  We should go.”

Right.  Keith nodded and headed back to the car, buckling in.  He wanted for Shiro to settle himself in, carefully floating his arm out of the way before closing the car door, then pulled back onto the road.  There was an indent in the grass from where they’d stopped, but hopefully that would perk back up before anyone could notice.

“You know,” Keith said, getting back up to speed (and more than a bit over).  “If you want, we can look up petting zoos that might be on our way.  You can get the whole experience.  They even give you little bags of food.”

Shiro snorted, resting back against the seat.  “The whole experience.  Yeah."  His eyes swept over the horizon, head tilted slightly.

The vague tone wasn’t unlike Shiro, but it was unlike him when they were alone.  Keith eyed him for a moment, then let the silence stretch.  He’d give Shiro some time to think, and if he wanted to talk, he could.

It was only a few minutes later that Shiro took a deep breath.  "How much of Earth do you think you’ve experienced?”

Keith barked out a laugh.  “You mean, places I’ve physically been?  I’ve barely been out of the state.  I’ve never been outside the country, other than when we left through the atmosphere.  You mean culturally?  Even less than that."  He paused, then frowned.  "And I guess there’s some stuff we missed out on.  The places where the Galra bases were, and all those cities.  They’re rebuilding, but…”

Fingers curled around Keith’s bicep, right above the elbow.  “There might be scars, but they’ll be rebuild.  They’ll be okay.”

“Yeah,” Keith said, purposefully not looking over at Shiro.  “They will.  To answer your question, a very small amount.  Why?”

“It just struck me how little I’ve seen of our home planet, that’s all."  Shiro squeezed once more, then let go.  "I know a decent amount, but from a birds-eye view.  I’ve experienced very little of it.  Does it seem odd to leave the planet without knowing it?”

“Not really.”

Shiro’s silence disagreed.

Finally looking over, Keith nudged Shiro’s shoulder with his elbow.  “You could dedicate your life to studying Earth and never get close to all of it.  You could focus on experiencing everything in one  _town_  and run out of time.”

Shiro nodded, still staring out into the distance.  “I know.  And I had this thought before I left on Kerberos too.  I just wonder.  How much of the world am I just… writing off?”

“It’s not writing off."  Keith followed Shiro’s gaze, watching the fields ahead of them.  "We’re finite.  We have a limited number of hours in our life.  You could spend your time focusing completely on this one planet, but you won’t get everything.  You can’t.  It’s useless to say it’s more worthwhile for you to learn about one ocean or another, and it’s also useless to feel bad for choosing other planets over this one.  Might as well pick the one that makes you happy.”

A bark of laughter burst out of Shiro.  “Going existential with it, huh?  Nothing matters, so everything is equally meaningless, so just do what you want?”

“Well, if you put it like that, then yeah, guess so."  Keith shrugged and tapped his fingers along the wheel.  "I’m not exactly going to get on your case for preferring the stars to Earth, anyway.”

“No, you’re not."  Shiro’s voice was fond, almost painfully so.  Keith kept his eyes away, because he could guess the smile he was getting, and he didn’t want to subject himself to that. Not when he knew it would make him want more than he should ask.

Instead, Keith tightened his grip on the wheel.  "Why?  You’re not thinking of staying, are you?  Because-”

“No, of course I’m not.”

Keith took a deep breath, then let it out in one shaky go.  “Because you can, is what I was going to say.”

“I absolutely can’t.  We don’t know Atlas can respond to anyone else, so-”

“No!"  Keith’s nails dug into the wheel.  He moved over into the right lane, just so he could slow down a bit and pay more attention to the conversation.  Then he looked over, outright scowling.  "No, you can.  We’ll figure something out.  If you want out, you get to leave.  You have that option.  No one is taking it from you.”

Shiro stared back, utterly stunned.  “I-"  He swallowed hard. "I want to keep going.  It’s okay.”

The tension held, the silence charged.

Then Shiro’s pocket said, “in two miles take exit 234.”

Huffing, Shiro pulled his phone out of his pocket and let it rest in his lap.  “You caught that?”

“Yeah.”

The silence again, still tense.

“I don’t want to stay,” Shiro finally said, firmer than before.  “Atlas was an excuse. I’m sorry to worry you.  I like doing this.  It’s what I love.  I just wondered 'what-if’.”

Keith took a steadying breath.  “Okay.  I just wanted to make sure.”

“I’m not going to leave you.”

For the first time, the car jerked in the lane.  Keith steadied it quickly, but he could do nothing to calm the way his heart was pounding in his throat.  “I’m not-  that’s not…."  He let go with one hand to brush his bangs out of his face.  "That shouldn’t be why.”

Shiro chuckled softly.  “It can be part of it.  It’s not all, but I want to be with you.  With all of you.  Voltron.”

Right.  Voltron.  The team.  The mission.

Keith nodded, still not looking over.  The exit lane began, and Keith merged over and took his foot off the gas to slow down.  “Yeah.  Good.  So long as you’re happy.”

“I am happy,” Shiro said, very soft again. 

The silence held until they pulled into the fast food restaurant.  Keith unbuckled himself quickly and threw the door open, eager for food and a break from the car.

But Shiro stayed inside.  He stared out the windshield like he wasn’t seeing it.

“Hey,” Keith murmured, knocking on the top of the car.  “You with me?”

“No.  But I want to be."  Shiro slowly unbuckled himself and stepped out, but he didn’t head toward the building.  Instead he rounded the car and stood firmly in front of Keith.  "I’m a coward.”

The comment was so far from the truth that Keith laughed.  “You’re not.”

Shiro shook his head, gaze focused on Keith’s eyes.  The direct contact was uncomfortably intense, but Keith resisted the urge to look away.  “I am,” Shiro said.  “Because I keep finding excuses.  I throw things up and try to maintain deniability.  It’s cowardly."  

At this point, Keith honestly had no idea where Shiro was going with this.  He just stood, his hip pressed to the warm side of the rental car, smelling cheap burgers and acrid asphalt in the sun, and waited.

Taking a shaky breath, Shiro reached out slowly, hesitantly.  His fingers wrapped around Keith’s wrist, holding loosely, but not letting go.  "I don’t want to go because Atlas needs me, or because of Voltron."  He paused, then chuckled and ducked his head.  "Okay, I do.  But just in part.  Not in the same way."  His fingers squeezed.  "I want to go with you.  Just you.  Keith.”

Oh.

“I- yeah.  Me too."  Keith scrambled, looking for words that expressed the relief coursing through him.  The hope.  The fondness.  They didn’t come, even after all he’d improved at speaking.  

But that was enough, because Shiro smiled.  It was a quick flash, and then he just stared.  "Am I off base?  Should I….?"  He released Keith’s wrist, like he was about to step back.

Keith snagged the front of Shiro’s shirt and dragged him right back in.  "No.  You’re not.  You should keep going.”

Stepping forward with the force of the tug, Shiro swallowed.  A flush grew over his cheeks.  “I- um.  Well.  I just want to say that… that I love you too.  In whatever way you’ll have me.”

Keith’s eyes roamed over Shiro’s face, looking for… something.   The way out.  The way to understand Shiro’s words that didn’t mean what it sounded like.

He came up blank.

So Keith kissed him.

Shiro jolted, going stiff.  But then he surged forward, both hands grabbing onto Keith’s hips to drag him in even closer.

When he pulled away, Shiro smiled that same, soft, awe-filled smile.  

His look of discovery.

Keith smiled back, physically unable to do anything else.  He was swept up in the heat, the excitement, in Shiro.

Then he laughed against Shiro’s lips.  “After everything, we do this in the parking lot of a fast food chain.”

Shiro started, then laughed too.  “It’s supposed to be good!”

“That doesn’t make it less weird.  We could have done this when you woke up from the pod-”

“I was barely conscious, how is that more romantic?”

“-or when we were in Black the whole flight home-”

“Your mother was  _right there!”_

“-or when we got home and we beat Sendak.”

Shiro snorted.  “Don’t worry, we’ll have plenty more chances to fail at being romantic."  He pecked Keith again, smiling.

All Keith could do was smile back.  "I like the sound of that.”


	2. Chapter 2

The door to Shiro’s quarters opened in reaction to his presence, rather than at the press of his hand. Which was good, because Shiro’s hands were busy, already unbuttoning the collar and first flap of his uniform.  It gaped open, revealing the plain white tank top underneath.  The door closed behind him, and Shiro took a deep breath.  The air was no different here than in any other part of the ship. But he still felt like it was lighter, easier to take in. 

There was one difference between his quarters and the rest of Atlas, though.  And he was currently sprawled out on the couch, not even looking up from his book.

Shiro unbuttoned the rest of his top as he made his way over, then sat down on the far end of the couch. When Keith still didn’t pay attention, he climbed over long legs to flop himself over him, head resting on his chest.

Keith still didn’t look up, but he shifted his grip on his book so he could hold it in one hand. The other found Shiro’s head, petting through his hair.  "Bad meeting?“

Grunting, Shiro closed his eyes.  "It went fine.  It was just long.  Really, letting Pidge be in charge of the MFE upgrades was the worst idea anyone ever had. She and Nadia are a match made in hell. If I find out one more time that they made a secret modification to her plane, I’m going to lock them out of the hangers for a month.”

Keith chuckled, still slowly petting.  The hand went away for a moment and there was the sound of a page turning, but then it returned.  "No, you won’t.“

It was true, but Shiro still made a disagreeing noise.  He finally opened his eyes, taking in Keith’s relaxed expression.  Between Atlas and Blade relief missions, they both worked odd and unpredictable hours.  As frustrating as it could be, Shiro found himself glad. They were both doing what they loved, and it made it impossible to take the quiet moments for granted. He’d been guilty of that before, in previous relationships.  Shiro never wanted to do that to Keith.  They’d survive, they’d talk it out, but it would hurt them in between.

That in mind, Shiro took advantage of Keith’s loose lounge clothes.  His natural fingers snuck up under the hem, tracing tiny swirls and patterns against Keith’s stomach.  It earned him a twitch and a hint of a smile, but Keith narrowed his eyes and forced himself to keep reading.

Heh.

"Good book?” Shiro asked.  "What are you reading?“

Keith paused, then snapped the book closed.  He held it up so the cover was facing Shiro, one brow up.

Squinting, Shiro frowned at the cover.  The letters blurred at the edge, bleeding into each other.

Before he could make out the words, the book suddenly tilted forward, until the edge rested on Shiro’s forehead.  "Did you talk with Doctor Fraiser?”

This again.  Shiro scowled and pushed the book off his head so he could meet Keith’s eyes.  "There’s no need.  Besides, you know how busy I am.  I don’t have time.“

"No need.  Which is why you know the title of my story, right? If you asked the crew to make space for you to see a doctor, you know they’d do it for you.”  Keith dropped the book on the coffee table, still frowning at Shiro.  "Why don’t you want to do this?“

"Because I don’t have to.”  But when Keith just stared, he sighed.  "It’s ridiculous.  Why should I need eye correction?  I’ve been fine, and this body is still only a few years old.“

Keith shrugged.  "Who can say, Shiro?  Maybe eyes were a little complicated for the cloning process.  Or maybe your eyes were going to start to have problems anyway.  Either way, you need help.  I get headaches just watching you squint, and your paperwork is taking so much longer.  It’s only a matter of time before you misread an important word, and I don’t want to see how much that’ll hurt you.”

That was the very thought Shiro had been trying to avoid.  He sighed and dropped his face into Keith’s chest. “I know.”

Sighing, Keith rested both his hands on Shiro’s back, like a very loose hug.  “If you make an appointment in the next couple of days, I can go with you.”

Shiro stilled.  “You don’t have to do that.  I’m a big boy, I can go to the doctor all by myself."  Despite that, he curled his hand around Keith’s hip, clinging just a little.  "But I appreciate it.  Besides, I don’t want to use up your free time.”

“If it helps?  It’s worth it."  Keith pushed Shiro’s bangs up off his face, smiling at him. "I want you comfortable, Shiro.”

“I know."  Shiro reached up and wrapped his hand around Keith’s, lacing their fingers together.  "How about this?  I’ll go to the appointment as soon as I can get one, and we’ll try to plan the procedure for a time when you’re around.  If we can plan ahead that well.”

“That’s-"  Keith paused, brow coming together.  "That could work.  But what do you mean by ‘procedure?’”

What else could Shiro mean?  “The eye correction.  I remember Matt needed a day after to recover properly.  I’d prefer you be there for that then just an eye exam.”

There was a pause, and then Keith let his head flop back.  “You’re thinking of surgery.  No  _wonder_  you’ve been putting it off."  Before Shiro could object to the wording, Keith pushed on.  "Shiro, you can just get glasses.”

Shiro opened his mouth, then paused.  Closed his mouth.  “I’m a pilot,” he finally said.

“Not the kind you used to be.  You can wear glasses and be Captain of the Atlas."  Keith shook his head and smiled at him, though it was sad.  "I assumed you just still didn’t like doctors.  I didn’t even think about laser eye correction.”

Shiro shrugged.  It was still wrong of him to avoid the doctor because he didn’t like being knocked out on a table.  Not when his ability to read and process information was a critical part of his job.  But there was another problem.  Shiro crinkled his nose and sighed.  “Glasses?  I’m going to look even older.”

“You’re going to look great with them."  Keith scratched over the back of Shiro’s neck, his finger rasping through the shorter hairs there.  "Want me to help pick them out?”

Shiro wrinkled his nose as he thought about it.  “Maybe Allura too.”

“Hey!”

“I want you to like them, but I also want someone with actual taste."  Shiro grinned and shrugged.  "That’s not really either of us.”

Keith tried to scowl, but it quickly fell apart.  “Maybe that’s a good idea."  He poked Shiro in the middle of his back.  "Scoot up.”

Pushing himself up on his forearms, Shiro belly-crawled his way up Keith, hovering over him.  He lowered himself down to give Keith a gentle peck.  “How was your day?”

“Good,” Keith replied.  He pulled his arms in closer, so Shiro could rest more comfortably.  “It’s weird having nothing to do again.  Are we still on for lunch tomorrow?”

“Unless I need to do the eye exam then, yes."  Shiro pressed their foreheads together, smiling.  "Allura wanted to come and bring Lance, if that’s okay.  She wanted to catch up.  Did you want it to be just us?”

Keith’s brows rose.  “Last time we tried to have lunch with those two, you and Allura got a new idea about applying Allura’s magic to Atlas and ran off, and left me and Lance alone.”

“Yes, well, you two get along fine, now.  It’s not like the early days of the Castle of Lions."  Shiro’s bottom lip stuck out.  "Is that a no?”

“It’s not a no,” Keith replied.  He leaned up to kiss Shiro’s pout away.  “I don’t mind.  I’m just pointing out that you and Allura have a tendency to egg each other on, just like Pidge and Hunk do.  It’s why she’s your best friend.”

“You’re my best friend.”

“The best friend that isn’t your husband.”

Shiro grinned and shrugged. “Yeah, maybe."  He gave Keith another slow kiss, then laced his right hand with Keith’s left.  He brought the knuckles to his mouth and gave the ring a slow, warm kiss.  "I never mean to ignore you.”

Keith watched, eyes smoldering.  “I know."  He pulled his hand back, and instead used it to yank Shiro down into a firmer kiss.  "We’ll do a double date.  Don’t think I can’t see through your wording.”

Laughing, Shiro nipped Keith’s bottom lip.  “Yes, yes, I am transparent.  I know."  He pressed their foreheads together, noses brush and breath mixing between them.  "I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Their lips touched again, softly at first, but then with more pressure.  Shiro opened his mouth invitingly, groaning as Keith took immediate advantage.

But when Keith’s hands slid purposefully under his shirt, Shiro pulled back.  “Wait,” he breathed out, heart pounding.  

Keith stilled immediately, eyes wide.  “Why?”

“We haven’t had dinner yet.”

A groan ripped out of Keith.  “That’s why?"  He kissed Shiro again, just as eagerly as before.  "Alright, yeah.  Fine.  Dinner first.”

“I mean, there are things I could put in my mouth, but they aren’t exactly filling."  Shiro grinned at him and raised his brows pointedly.

Keith stared, then nabbed the pillow under him and pushed it into Shiro’s face.  "Yeah, definitely dinner time.  Way to kill the mood.”

Laughing, Shiro pulled the pillow away and climbed up so Keith could move.  “Come on, Hunk made me a few frozen meals before he left for his conference.  Apparently I would starve without him, because the mess doesn’t exist.  We can do that.”

Grunting his agreement, Keith slotted himself against Shiro’s back and wrapped his arms around his waist.  “Alright.”

Shiro rested his hands on top of Keith’s, tracing the pads of his fingers over the band.  His own fit snugly on his left hand.  “Hey, Keith?”

“Hm.”

“Thank you.  For everything.”

Warm lips pressed against the back of Shiro’s neck.  “Of course.  After everything, a double date and going to a doctor’s appointment aren’t a lot to ask.”

“Maybe, but I still appreciate it.” Shiro turned in Keith’s arms, gently cupping his jaw to pull him into a kiss.  “I appreciate you.”

Keith smiled into the kiss.  “You’d do the same for me.”

“As many times as it takes.”


End file.
